Ghostflowers
by CookieCrumble123
Summary: It never ends well when you fall in love with a dead guy. [Percabeth AU, full summary inside]


**Ghostflower**

**It never ends well when you fall in love with a dead guy. AU, full summary inside.**

**A/N: Hola. JK I don't speak Spanish.**

**Anyway...sup, guys. It's me, back, with a new story this time. I haven't abandoned TGTYEL, don't worry, I don't think I ever will! I just really wanted to write some of this. **

**Anyway. FULL SUMMARY: Percy is dead. He's a ghost, and he's somehow bound to Annabeth's house. He doesn't know why, or what's going on - he doesn't know much about himself, really.**

**Annabeth is freaked out, but she comes to terms with it - she was always very level-headed, after all - and tries to figure out what his deal is. She finds out eventually, and they work at trying**

**to get rid of Percy so he can get to heaven and be reunited with his mommy (she's dead too, sorry Sally fans! but if it's any reassurance, so is Ugly Gabe!). It proves harder than they both **

**assumed, because they have to do a lot of stuff (explained later). And in the process, Annabeth finds herself falling for Percy. Which sucks because he's a dead guy. Understand? Yes? Cool. No?**

**PM me.**

**This will be pretty angsty and dramatic, but meh, you guys secretly love that stuff, don't you. Anyway, ahead with the story!**

**WARNINGS: mentions of major and minor character death, cursing, unbeta'd**

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, it's all Rick Riordans.**

**Ghostflower - Chapter One**

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Annabeth Chase was annoyed.

Here she was, babysitting her two annoying little brothers Matthew and Bobby, while her dad and stepmother were out sucking face in a fancy restaurant downtown. Annabeth had better things to do than play Ninja Fighters with the boys. Like finish up her architecture homework, and do some calculations, and maybe read a book or two, and-

SMACK.

Annabeth yelped in pain as Bobby "accidentally" chucked a random, hard toy car at her face, which exploded in white-hot pain and jolted her from her daydreams.

"I'm sowwy, Anna!" Bobby cried, rushing to his sister. He then proceeded to slap her on the face.

"Oh my god, Bobby!" Annabeth shouted, pushing him away to cradle her sore nose. He fell on his butt and started crying.

Annabeth sighed, feeling guilty. She picked the three-year-old up and placed him on her hip, walking around the kitchen at an attempt to soothe him. Bobby began tugging at a strand of her curly blonde hair.

"I diden mean to huwt you," he whispered. "Sowwy Annabef."

He was getting snot and drool all over her new shirt, but she ignored it and continued to try and calm him down. "I know, I know," she said quietly. "Sorry for pushing you. Are we good now?"

Bobby nodded, giving her a huge toothless grin. She couldn't help but smile back at the sight - he was pretty damn cute - and she placed him down on the kitchen counter.

"Mattie!" Annabeth called, and the dark-haired six-year-old came running to them from the living room.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Do you want a snack?"

"No thanks," he said shortly, before quickly going back to where he came from.

Annabeth watched him go and sighed. He didn't hate her, but she got the idea that he wouldn't ever welcome her, either. Unlike Bobby. She looked at the three-year-old sitting on the counter, who was peering up at her with wide brown eyes. She gave him a fake smile.

"I guess he's just not hungry, hmm?" she shrugged. "Anyway. You in the mood for some carrot sticks?"

Bobby nodded, laughing happily, and she smiled again - but this time it was more genuine.

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Annabeth watched Bobby and Matthew sit in front of the TV, completely engrossed with the dramatic ending of their favourite cartoon. Bobby's mouth was full of carrot sticks, and Mattie was sucking his thumb. They sat, legs tangled together on the sofa, ignoring Annabeth.

"Hey, guys," she said. "I'm gonna go upstairs and change." She gestured towards her shirt, which was still coated with Bobby's bodily fluids.

As expected, they continued to ignore her, so Annabeth sighed and made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. If something managed to go wrong while she was away, Matthew was sensible enough to come and call her for help.

She opened the door to her room and flicked on the light, immediately heading towards her wardrobe. She looked around, pushing the clothes hangers for something suitable to wear. She settled with an old, oversized sweater. Comfy and warm. Satisfied, she gave a quick nod before heading towards her shelf to pick up a book so she could read whilst babysitting.

Picking a book wasn't as easy as picking clothes, not for Annabeth. She considered taking out her copy of Wood Architecture Now! (Volume Two), but she'd read that last week and to re-read it seven days later wouldn't be very thrilling. So she took out Living in Endless City, one of her favourites, a small smile playing on her lips as she headed towards the door.

Only to find a guy standing there.

Annabeth screamed at the top of her lungs.

The guy screamed back.

"Burglar!" Annabeth yelled, her heart pounding with terror.

"No!" he shouted back.

Terrified out of her mind, she instinctively chucked her book at him, hoping it would knock him out and buy her enough time to go downstairs, grab the boys and get the fuck out of the house. But to her shock and horror, the book passed straight through him and collided with the wall before bouncing back.

She stared at the man, who stared back at her with wide green eyes.

Suddenly her legs could no longer support her weight. They buckled the exact same moment her world turned black, and Annabeth fainted.

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"Annie. Anna. Annabef..."

"Wake up, Annabeth."

Annabeth was vaguely aware of two childish voices calling her name, and she was also aware of two boys poking her face and shoulder. She opened her eyes.

Everything was bright. So bright. Eventually the light faded as her eyes came to terms with what they were looking at, and she saw her two brothers staring at her as she lay on the carpeted floor of her bedroom.

Bobby looked down at her, mouth wide open. Matthew was next to him, looking half-disdainful and half-afraid as he pulled her up into a sitting position, leaning her against the wall.

Annabeth shook her head, dazed. What the hell happened?

"What the hell happened?" Matthew demanded, putting her thoughts into words.

"I don't know," she said, because she really didn't know what had happened. And then she frowned. "I told you to stop using words like that, Matthew!"

He rolled his eyes, but he seemed relieved that his half-sister was back to her normal self. "I'm going to watch TV. Come on, Bobby."

Bobby took one last look at Annabeth and offered her a shy smile before following his brother out the room and downstairs. Annabeth's head was reeling as she desperately tried to understand what had happened.

She'd seen a guy - a total stranger - leaning against her bedroom door like it was completely ordinary. Of course, the initial thought that rushed to her mind was "burglar", "thief", amongst other things.

And she'd thrown her book at him. But it had passed through him, like he was nothing but a-

"Ghost."

Annabeth resisted the urge to scream. She looked up and saw the same guy from earlier standing in the same place as he had been before. His hands were in his pockets and he was smiling down at her coyly.

"Wha-"

"Shh," he said.

"Who are you?" she demanded, standing up and leaning against the wall (she wasn't quite able to stand properly yet).

"Shh," the guy said. "Don't want the little kids coming back here, now do you?"

Annabeth grit her teeth as she stared at him. He was tall - taller than her - and had tan skin and messy black hair. His eyes were the same brilliant green as they had been the first time she'd seen them. He wore a hoodie and knee-length jeans and sneakers, along with that know-it-all smile.

"Tell me who you are, where you came from, and what the hell you want from me!" Annabeth said. "Is this a joke? A prank? Do you even know me?"

The man held his hands up in surrender, his smile widening. "Woah, woah, woah. Slow down. One question at a time."

"Answer me!"

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Look. I don't know you. I barely know myself. All I know is that I'm dead - a ghost, to be exact - and that no matter how much I try to leave, I keep ending up here. With you."

Annabeth felt a variety of emotions at that exact moment. Fear, confusion, anger, and for some reason, a hint of pity. And then anger took over.

"Are you fucking with me?" she snapped. "A ghost?"

"Yes," he said simply.

"Am I expected to beli-"

Without warning, he lunged towards her. Annabeth cried out and shut her eyes, expecting him to strike her or hurt her in one way or another, but all she felt was a rush of cool air. Slowly, she opened her eyes and realised the man was nowhere to be seen.

She breathed out in relief. He was gone. Thank god, he was gone. Nothing but a sick hallucination. She grinned.

"I wouldn't look so happy if I were you," said a wry voice from behind her.

Annabeth fainted again.

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When she came to, she was in her living room, lying on the sofa, surrounded by her father, her stepmother, Bobby and Matthew.

"Annabeth," Frederick Chase said as soon as she opened her eyes, wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace.

"I can't breath, dad," she managed to gasp out, because wow, she never knew her dad could hug that hard.

He pulled away, looking apologetic, and ran a hand through her curly hair. "The kids tell me you fainted."

"Ye-"

"Twice," her stepmother added as Annabeth sat up and rubbed her eyes.

"True," she confirmed. "I passed out twice."

"Mind telling us why?"

Annabeth's thoughts shifted to the ghost guy, and she realised something was very wrong. She looked around, and as if to confirm her worst suspicions, he was standing in the doorway, hands in his pockets, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Annabeth knew how her family would react if she told them she was being stalked by a ghost. She wasn't entirely sure of the situation herself.

So, she gave them her best "scared" look - all wide grey eyes and trembling lips - and clutched the hem of her dad's shirt. "I saw a huge spider."

"Oh, Annabeth!"

"Seriously?"

She ignored her family's cries of outrage. Her stepmother shook her head, and Matthew glared at her.

"You looked like you saw a ghost or something, Annabeth," he said.

"G-Ghost?" repeated Bobby, eyes widening in fear.

Annabeth's heart started beating just a little faster, and she heard the ghost man chuckle from where he stood. "Don't be stupid, Mattie. Ghosts aren't real. I saw a huge spider, okay? Anyone would've passed out."

"Your arachnophobia is really getting out of hand," Frederick mused. "We should take you to that therapist again."

Annabeth shrugged, knowing that was pointless, and moved to stand up, no longer playing afraid. "I've got a ton of homework, and I'm done babysitting the kids, right?"

Her stepmother still looked unsatisfied with what had happened. "Right."

"So, I'll see you guys later," Annabeth said. She grabbed the TV remote and switched it on, flicking to a family-friendly TV. "Sit down, you guys. Relax. Watch a movie."

"Yay!" Bobby cried. "Mommy! Daddy! Let's watch!"

"Okay," Frederick said. "Let's watch."

Frederick patted her on the shoulder. "Thank you for babysitting, Annabeth."

"It means a lot to us," her stepmother said, giving her a smile.

Annabeth smiled back. "It's okay. Now sit and kick back."

They nodded and sat down on the couch, making themselves comfy besides their kids, and when Annabeth was sure they were all watching the movie, she walked over to the stairs before turning to the lurking ghost.

"You," she mouthed, pointing towards him and then gesturing upstairs. "Come. Now."

He gave her a smirk. "Yes, ma'am."

As they made their way upstairs, Annabeth felt nothing but dread. She had some rough times ahead of her, that was for sure.

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She was sitting on her bed, and he was beside her, fiddling with his fingers. She got the idea he was nervous, which was ridiculous because if ANYONE had the right to be nervous, it was her.

Her house had been invaded by a dead man, for God's sake.

Annabeth turned to him. "Tell me everything. Everything you know, I mean," she added, remembering his earlier statement.

"You're being awfully calm about this," he smirked.

"Just get on with it, please!" Annabeth cried, her hand trembling, because this was so messed up, so very messed up indeed.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair again. Annabeth thought it was maybe something he did when he was nervous. He shrugged. "I don't know where to begin. I just woke up here today. I have no idea how I got here, or what I'm doing here."

"You tried escaping?"

He snorted. "Of course. No offence, but hanging around a strange girl's bedroom isn't exactly my idea of fun."

There was a long silence as Annabeth struggled to come to terms with the situation. It was just so...crazy. Annabeth was logical and rational, and this was going against everything she believed in.

"I know how you feel," he said. She turned to him, and he had a small smile on his face as he scratched at his wrist. "This is so messed up. I get something went wrong up there."

"Some kind of divine glitch," Annabeth said, and his smile widened as he visibly relaxed.

"So."

"What's your name?" she asked, surprised she'd forgotten to ask him something so important.

"Percy," he replied. "Percy Jackson."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "That's a weird name."

"It is not! My mom named me after a Greek hero or something."

"Perseus," Annabeth said, a smile playing on her lips. "The only one who had a happy ending."

"Well, I guess she messed up on that one, hmm?" Percy said bitterly.

Another long silence as they sat beside each other, staring at her bedroom wall. Well, Annabeth stared. Percy was rubbing at his eyes.

"So, your name is Percy Jackson, and you're dead," she concluded.

"Yep."

"You know anything else? Your age? Where you're from? How-" she hesitated, not wanting upset him. "How you died?"

He didn't seem angry or saddened by her question. Instead, he shrugged nonchalantly. "Nope. No idea. But I get the feeling I died very dramatically. Maybe in a swordfight or something. That sounds cool."

"How does that - ugh, never mind," Annabeth sighed, rubbing at her temple.

"I know this is a lot to take in," Percy said quietly. "But I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anyone."

She stared at him, and he stared back with those wide green eyes of his, and then she let out a bitter laugh. "If I told anyone, I'd probably be admitted into a mental asylum. Don't worry, your dirty little secret's safe with me."

He responded by giving her a smile of his own, and she was momentarily taken aback by how whole it was. He looked so...full of life. It was surprising, knowing he was a corpse.

As though to make sure, one last time, Annabeth reached out to touch him. And her hand went straight through him, his form wavering as though he was just a projection. She sighed, and he rolled his eyes.

"Are you sure now?" he asked.

"Yes," Annabeth whispered, feeling a pang of shame.

"It's okay. I'd probably feel the same way you do."

She decided to change the subject. "I've never really believed in ghosts before, myself. But I've heard people saying ghosts are often tied to places before they have unfinished business. Do you have unfinished business?"

Percy blinked. "Um, none that I'm aware of? Actually, now that I think of it, I never really lost my virginity."

Annabeth groaned and facepalmed as Percy cackled. This was going to be a long night.

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One hour later, Annabeth was sitting at her desk, typing furiously on her laptop with twelve tabs open - all about ghosts. Percy was lying on her bed, humming a song she recognised as the intro to The A Team.

Progress had been slow. Well, it had been mostly non-existent. Annabeth had searched for all sorts of information on Percy's predicament. She'd found nothing useful - just pages of angry nerds debating over whether or not ghosts exist, which Annabeth had no use for, because a fucking ghost was on her bed, in her house, and some tacky tales about women getting possessed by vengeful spirits. Annabeth was fairly certain Percy wasn't going to possess her - not yet, anyway.

"I got nothing," she said eventually, rubbing her temple and taking off her glasses.

Percy stopped humming and he glanced at her. "Really?"

"Really."

"Oh."

Then an idea struck Annabeth, and she opened up Google and began typing as Percy watched with curious eyes.

"Percy Jackson, right?" she asked. "That's your full name?"

"Yeah," he said, getting up to crawl on the bed next to her desk. He leaned down, watching carefully as she pressed the ENTER key.

The page exploded with results, the same words on each page title.

_Sally. Gabe. Percy Jackson. National swimming superstar. Asleep. Cigarettes. Fire. Smoke. _

And death. That word was everywhere.

_Death death death death death-_

Percy slammed the laptop shut so hard Annabeth thought she heard the screen crack. She spun in her chair to face him, glaring, but her anger evaporated once she saw how he looked.

His eyes were filled with tears, his lips trembling as his whole body shook. So lost, so afraid, so confused.

"Percy-" Annabeth began.

He cut her off by letting out a sudden yell of rage and burying his face in his hands. It took her a few moments to realise he was crying - hard, heavy sobs filled with despair and sadness. She turned back to her laptop and opened it gingerly, not particularly happy that it was unscathed, and she clicked on one of the pages.

"_Goode High's very own Percy Jackson was killed in a tragic fire in his Manhattan apartment, along with his dear mother Sally Jackson, and his beloved stepfather Gabe Uglia-"_

"He wasn't my beloved anything," Percy hissed, looking up, his cheeks wet. "I fucking hated that guy. It was his damn cigarettes that killed me. Killed my mom. Oh, god, my mom," he let out a loud, sad sob that made Annabeth's fists clench and her own eyes fill with tears.

She looked back at him. "You remember everything now, don't you?"

He nodded slowly. "His cigarettes. He used to leave them everywhere, and my mom would have to clean up after him. But she was sick, so she was in bed, and I completely forgot to do it myself. A fire started. He was passed out on the couch, and I was asleep. Everything was blurry for a while. I remember smoke. Lots of smoke, and huge flames eating away at everything. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything, dammit. And then everything went black."

Percy rubbed his forehead and continued in a hollow voice, "I woke up here. I didn't know or remember anything but my name. I was scared and confused, and then I realised I was dead, which was a total bummer, you know? Anyway. Like I said, I've tried escaping, but it just doesn't work."

She got the feeling he had more to say, but she let him off for now. "Percy, do you remember any unfinished business now? Serious ones, I mean."

He shook his head, almost as though on instinct, but then he paused and looked up, eyes shining. "Yes, actually. I had a bucket list I wanted to finish by the age of twenty."

"And how old are you now?"

He hesitated, and then he said firmly, "Seventeen."

"Like me," Annabeth said, smiling.

He smiled back, but then it slid from his face as he looked at her sadly. "I don't have the paper any more, and I don't remember what was on it. But maybe...maybe it's at my apartment?"

Annabeth raised an eyebrow. "Your apartment? In Manhattan? Won't that be filled with cops and officials and stuff? I mean, you did die only-" she looked at the computer screen before glancing back at him, "Yesterday."

"Annabeth, please," Percy begged. "I need to get out of here. And you sure as hell don't want a ghost creeping in your house for the rest of your life, do you?"

The thought made her shudder, so she groaned and nodded. "Fine. Fine. It's late now, so I'll get some sleep. I'll cut school tomorrow and go to your place with you. We'll figure up a plan on the way. As for now...goodnight."

He smiled at her. "Thank you, Annabeth."

"I can't believe we're doing this," was all she said.

"I know. I know."

She nodded and shooed him out of the room before walking back to her desk and closing her computer. She felt a pang of pity. Poor Percy.

But she'd help him. Damnit, she'd help him. She didn't know him, and she was still stunned by everything - she was mostly keeping a cool, level-headed appearance for his sake - but she had the strange yet sure feeling that it was her job to help Percy.

Almost like her destiny.

Annabeth laughed at the thought. And then she collapsed onto her bed, without changing into her PJs, and promptly fell asleep.

t(-_-)t

**A/N: So guys, that was chapter one of Ghostflowers! I hope you enjoyed! **

**It wasn't as long as I'd hoped, but whatever. I originally wanted this to be a one-shot, but I realised you guys wouldn't be as interested in it. I think. IDK, I don't read Percabeth fanfic, so Idk if things**

**are going well in this story.**

**PLEASE review! If I don't get any feedback I'll become paranoid that you hate my stuff. So please review! **

**Oh and I'll be updating my other fic next, so look out for that (hehe, self-promotion) **

**Until next time ^-^**

**-K**


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